Continuous glucose monitoring systems generally include a sensor such as a subcutaneous analyte sensor, at least a portion of which is configured for fluid contact with interstitial fluid, for detecting analyte levels such as glucose levels, a transmitter (such as a radio frequency (RF) transmitter) in communication with the sensor and configured to receive the sensor signals and to transmit them to a corresponding receiver unit by, for example, using RF data transmission protocol. The receiver may be operatively coupled to a glucose monitor that performs glucose related calculations and data analysis.
The transmitter may be mounted or adhered to the skin of a patient and also in signal communication with the sensor. Generally, the sensor is configured to detect and measure the glucose levels of the patient over a predetermined period of time, and the transmitter is configured to transmit the measured glucose levels over the predetermined period of time for further analysis. To initially deploy the sensor so that the sensor contacts and electrodes are in fluid contact with the patient's analyte fluids, a separate deployment mechanism such as a sensor inserter or introducer is used.
In operation, the sensor is typically mounted or operatively coupled to the introducer, and using a trigger mechanism or other drive mechanism to drive the sensor, the introducer and the sensor are positioned at the appropriate or desired location on the patient's skin to transcutaneously position the sensor. Prior to driving or firing the sensor using the sensor inserter mechanism, it is important to position the sensor within the introducer so that the sensor is not substantially displaced prior to the sensor insertion process. Otherwise, the sensor, when using the introducer, may not be positioned at the desired location on the patient's skin or at the desired depth under the patient's skin.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus for retaining the sensor in cooperation with the sensor introducer such that the sensor is sufficiently retained by the sensor introducer such that the sensor is accurately positioned during the insertion process to transcutaneously place the sensor in the patient.